From Farm Boy to Top Scholar

Liuxi Town, Bluestone Village.

Chuliu hurried home with a large basket of pigweed strapped to his back. As soon as he set the basket down in the shade, an unfamiliar child’s cries reached his ears.

Just then, a woman who had just washed her hands under the eaves heard his footsteps. Turning to see Chuliu, drenched in sweat, she greeted him with a cheerful smile. “Chuliu, out cutting grass again? What a sensible child you are—raising two pigs so plump and fat, and a dozen hens clucking every day... At five years old, you’re more capable than some seven-year-olds in other families...”

Chuliu barely heard her praise; he was too anxious. “Auntie, did my mother give birth?”

This woman was Ma Fengya, wife of Chuliu’s second granduncle’s eldest son. In the countryside, midwives were rarely called for childbirth. Especially with experienced mothers like Chuliu’s, the women of the clan or neighboring families would lend a hand instead.

Ma Fengya, never short of words, had little regard for a woman who had just given birth to another money-losing girl. She was about to leave after helping out, but seeing Chuliu return, she suddenly felt a twinge of jealousy. Following his question, she replied, “Chuliu, your mother has given you a little sister. Are you happy?”

“I am! I’m really happy!” Chuliu’s face lit up.

Had it been a brother, yet another barrier would stand between him and his dream of studying. A sister was far preferable!

Of course, Ma Fengya had no inkling of Chuliu’s thoughts. Hearing the bright, innocent voice, she looked d